French & Francophone Studies Courses

French & Francophone Studies | Courses | French & Italian Faculty

(All courses carry 3 credits unless otherwise noted. Staffing logistics may necessitate the omission of some of the following courses and the addition of others.)

Note on Elementary and Intermediate French: No more than six credits may be earned for any combination of courses at the Elementary level (French 110 through 126). No more than six credits may be earned for any combination of courses at the Intermediate level (French 230 through 249).

110 Elementary French I (1st sem)

Beginning training in four skills: reading, writing, speaking, and understanding. Freshmen with one senior year of high school French with a grade of A or B or with two years of high school French are encouraged to enroll in FREN 120 rather than this course.

120 Elementary French II (2nd sem)

Training in four skills: reading, writing, speaking, understanding. Prerequisite: FREN 110, one semester of college French, or two years of high school French. Freshmen with senior year high school French with a grade of A or B are encouraged to enroll in FREN 120 rather than 110.

126 Intensive Elementary French 6 cr (1st sem)

With lab. Four-skills course for beginning students requiring active and regular partic-ipation in class and lab.

230 Intermediate French I (1st sem)

With lab. Review of French grammar plus additional training in four skills: reading, writing, speaking, understanding. Should be elected by students intending to continue in French beyond the intermediate level. Prerequisite: FREN 120 or equivalent (two to three years of high school French).

Please note that there are four different tracks at the Fourth Semester level. Each track emphasizes different skills: 240 is a Four Skills course designed for students planning to continue beyond the fourth semester level and perhaps major or minor in French. 244-249 offer readings in different fields. 246 is the 6-credit intensive course. Credit may be earned for only one course at the 240 level. Any 240-level course will fulfill the foreign language requirement of the Colleges of Humanities and Fine Arts and Natural Sciences and Mathematics.

240 Intermediate French II

Practice with the four skills: reading, writing, understanding, and speaking. Readings of contemporary plays, short stories, journal articles. Frequent short written exercises. Review of grammar as questions arise. Suitable for students planning to continue beyond the 240 level. Prerequisite: FREN 230 or equivalent. Note: Students in 246 need not take this course.

244 Intermediate French: Fiction

Translation, discussion. Improves skills in reading and translating from French into English and introduces 20th-century French literature through the reading of selected short works. Prerequisite: FREN 230 or equivalent. Completes language requirement in French. English used in class.

246 Intensive Intermediate French 6 cr (2nd sem)

Develops speaking, reading, and writing skills. Discussion of cultural material from France and other French-speaking areas (QuÈbec, the Caribbean, West Africa). Selective review of grammar based on student needs. Prerequisite: FREN 120 or 126, or equivalent, high level of proficiency.

247 Intermediate French: Social Sciences

248 Intermediate French: Math and Science

Develops ability to read contemporary material (short articles, excerpts from books) drawn from various fields in natural and physical sciences (medicine, ecology, environmental, genetic engineering, and other topics of current interest). Prerequisite: FREN 230 or equivalent or consent of instructor.

250 Language and Literature

Four Skills course for students with four years' high school French or equivalent. Active and regular participation in class required. Text and short literary selections from works of great authors.

260 Phonetics and Phonemics

With lab. Intensive oral practice of French pronunciation with emphasis on the comparison of the French and English sound systems. Systematic study of sounds; phonetic theory and practice applied to dialogue, narrative readings, and poetry; 2 class and 2 lab hours; develops accurate pronunciation of French. Prerequisite: French at the 240 level.

272 Conversation

The study of print and broadcast media. Focus on speaking, listening, and reading comprehension. Prerequisite: completion of fourth semester French course.

285 Language Suite Conversation
(both sem) 2 cr with additional 1-cr Honors option

Designed as part of the living-learning community in Thatcher Language House. Improves knowledge of the French language with emphasis on oral skills. Builds vocabulary, develops ability to understand and communicate more freely in the language by focusing on social and cultural issues.

290B Knights and Narratives: Medieval French Literature in Translation (AL)

Reading and discussion of some of the great heroic and romantic fictions of the French Middle Ages: the legends of Charlemagne and King Arthur, the courtly romances of ChrÈtien de Troyes, the myth of Tristan and Iseut, the fictions of Camelot and the Holy Grail, works that have helped to shape the modern imagination and raise issues concerning individual and collective heroism, the ideal society, fatal and ennobling passion, and the quest. Special attention to the Arthurian world, its ideals, and its end; screening of significant recent films based on this material. Taught in English.

290M Introduction to Medieval Studies (I)

A broad introduction to medieval studies and a framework within which to integrate studies in various disciplines. Lectures by medievalists from several departments, on medieval topics including history, literature, art, philosophy, spirituality, and popular culture; complemented by video and other resources and by discussion groups. Taught in English.

303 Writing on Language

Discussion, weekly writing assignments, peer critiques, tutorial. Fulfills the Junior Year Writing requirement. Develops skills in both writing and literary analysis using a wide selection of French and Italian short stories in English translation. All texts and writing in English. Prerequisite: Freshman Writing course. Limited to majors in French and Italian except by arrangement.

350 French Film (AT)

With screenings. The development of French film from the 1930s and its relations to French society. Analysis and reading of specific films, the ideology of different film practices, and relevant aspects of film theory, including questions of representation. Films by directors such as Vigo, CarnÈ, Renoir, Bresson, Resnais, Godard, Truffaut, Ackerman, Kurys, Tavernier. Taught in English.

353 Francophone African and Caribbean Film (ATG)

Histories and development of African Francophone and Caribbean film, from its inception to the present day. The sociocultural, economic, and political forces and imperatives defining its forms and directions. Questions this work raises in film aesthetics and theory as a whole. Screenings and analysis of films by Sembene, Achkar, KaborÈ, Mweze, CissÈ, Drabo, Bekolo, Teno, Peck, Palcy, Lara, Haas, and others. Taught in English.

371 Advanced Grammar

The first of a two-semester sequence devoted to grammar review, vocabulary development, and composition writing. Students read a number of literary excerpts and articles from various sources. Quizzes taken on-line via the OWL system. Includes weekly writing exercises.

384 Themes in French Intellectual and Literary History

Some of the major contributions of French writers over the centuries to an exploration of the human condition. Focus on several different aspects of the relations between such intellectual inquiry and the evolution of literary forms and genres. The specific themes chosen by the instructor. First semester: love and hate in tragedies, comedies, poems and novels; second semester: adolescence, identity and individuation. May be used for the major requirement instead of FRENCH 324.

386 French Civilization: Origins to 1945 (HS) (1st sem)

Introduction to the way the French look at their own political, social, and cultural history; a study of some institutions, events, and figures that help understand French people today. Prerequisite: FREN 240 level or equivalent, preferably 250 level. Taught in French. Nonmajors may write papers and exams in English.

388 Francophone Civilization Outside of France

Introduction to culture and political forces that shaped French-speaking regions outside of Europe, and idea of francophonie. Topics may include: history and ideology of French colonialism; cultural, as distinct from political, colonialism; cultural nationalism; bilingualism and its social, cultural, and linguistic consequences. Prerequisites flexibleóconsult instructor. Nonmajors may write in English.

389 QuÈbec Civilization

The development of QuÈbec culture and society from New France to the present; the major ideological currents and political crises that have shaped QuÈbec's identity; contemporary issues including QuÈbec and "la francophonie," QuÈbec nationalism, feminism, language and the arts. Field trip to QuÈbec City or Montreal.

390G Fictions of the Grail in Literature and Film

Includes a selection of medieval romances, modern novels, and films by major directors. Begins with the original twelfth-century French Grail story by ChrÈtien de Troyes. Subsequent readings and screenings examine a wide variety of literary settings, both medieval and modern, and various European and American films.

397P Introduction to Critical and Textual Analysis

Introduction to recent developments in the field of theory disciplines, including dialogism, semiotics, ideology, structuralism, deconstruction, psychoanalysis, feminism, and cultural and postcolonial studies, with examination of pertinent texts and application of theory to specific problems in textual analysis.

411 Introduction to Medieval French Literature

Representative works from various genres (epic, romance, lyric, drama) read in modern French translation, relation of medieval literature to medieval culture and society. Prerequisite: FREN 324/325 or consent of instructor.

424 Renaissance Prose (AL)

Critical examination of French Renaissance thought through readings of major representative prose writers. Ability to understand spoken French required.

433 French Classicism 1660-1700 A study of literary texts in different genres: Tragedy, Racine; Comedy, MoliËre; Novel, Mme De Lafayette; Essai, Pascal; Poetry, La Fontaine.

469 20th Century Theater

Focuses on major playwrights and on such topics as surrealism, theater of the absurd, and comedy.

473 Advanced Composition

Quizzes on-line via the OWL system. Includes weekly writing exercises. Prerequisite: FREN 371.

475 Business French

Lecture and practice. A four-skill course conducted in French. Overview of French business, business practices, and the business environment within France and the European community. Frequent oral and written practice, including Internet research.

481 Techniques of Consecutive Interpretation (1st sem)

With lab. Historical background of consecutive interpretation. Acquisition of skills through lab practice in notetaking, organizing, and presenting information from one foreign language into English. Prerequisite: fluency in one or more foreign languages.

482 Techniques of Simultaneous Interpretation (2nd sem)

With lab. Introduction to theoretical aspects of simultaneous interpretation and to current research in field. Acquisition of skills through lab practice in interpreter's booth, with and without the text. Historical background; organization of the interpreting profession. Requires fluency in one or more foreign languages.

511 Introduction to Medieval French Studies

Introduction to the literary culture of medieval France, focusing on the origins of some major themes of Western literature: l'amour passion, le merveilleux, chivalric ideals, and the Grail Quest. Contemporary critical approaches emphasized along with close readings of texts. Introduction to Old French through the reading of some texts, others read in modern French translation.

564 Literature of Africa and the Caribbean

Cultural colonization and decolonization, the Negritude movement, contemporary writing in francophone West Africa, Haiti, and the French West Indies. Prerequisite: a 400-level course or consent of instructor.

572 Basic Methods of Teaching Language (1st sem)

Ideas and techniques for teaching all foreign languages at the secondary and post-secondary levels. Presentations made in class and in area schools. Prerequisites: fluency in the teaching language and completion of all other courses in professional education sequence.

573 Advanced Methods of Teaching Language (2nd sem)

The latest ideas and methods for teaching all foreign languages at the intermediate and advanced levels. For graduate students and practicing teachers. Topics include the use of authentic materials, technology, small group instruction, literature, poetry, and culture.

584 French Canadian Literature

Canadian poets, novelists, and dramatists writing in French.

590R Renaissance Lyric: Petrarchan Poetry in Italy and France

Intensive introduction to Petrarch's Canzoniere or Rime sparse, the "founding text" of the dominant tradition of European Renaissance lyric, and to the literary phenomenon known as "Petrarchism" as it evolved in Italy and France in the 15th and 16th centuries. Poets include Petrarch, Veronica Franca, Lorenzo de' Medici, Maurice ScËve, Louise LabÈ, Du Bellay, Ronsard. Emphasis on mythological elements, gender, questions of intertextuality, and the close cultural relations between Italy and France in the period. Taught in English. Texts available in both English and French or Italian; majors in French or Italian do some of the course work in their major language. Same as ITAL 590R.

597C The Colonial Other

Critical analysis of novels, plays, essays, and travel narratives written during the various phases of France's colonial engagement. How colonized and colonizer figure through the literary deployment of universalist, exoticist, Orientalist, and erotic discourses, and their rearticulation in pradigms of anti- and neo-colonialism. Prerequisite: 300-level French course or consent of instructor. Students pursuing a degree other than in French may complete work in English.

French & Francophone Studies | Courses | French & Italian Faculty